First there were the
litigation funders. Next we saw
whistleblower funders. Now, the WSJ reports, we have
Madoff trustee recovery funders.
According to an article today, a company called ASM Capital has has been approaching victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme with offers "to buy them out at a discount for their claims to what is eventually recovered by Irving Picard," the court-appointed trustee. ASM is reportedly offering two options: (1) an immediate payment of 20% of claims in exchange for the full claim; or (2) an upfront payment of 16% of the claims, with the investor keeping 33% of future recoveries.
Thus, the WSJ explains,
For an investor with a claim of $4 million, for example, ASM will write a check for $800,000 in exchange for the full claim; or the investor could take $640,000 plus 33% of future proceeds ASM receives above that amount. Those sums would be in addition to any $500,000 payouts made by Securities Investor Protection Corporation to investors.
ASM says it is working on deals with about a dozen Madoff investors, including individuals, charities and foundations.